The total research program of this laboratory is intended to contribute towards the understanding of the complete replication cycle of a retrovirus. Our emphasis is on the replication of the viral genome rather than on the synthesis of viral proteins and the assembly of such proteins into progeny virions. More specifically, within this funded project, there are three principal objectives: a. Characterize those RNA species in avian and human cells, whether normal or transformed, that have a functional relationship to a retrovirus genome. b. Understand the mechanism utilized by the virus which allows only a fraction of the nascent RNA transcripts to be processed and translated and yet preserves a separate pool of viral RNA which is sequestered into progeny virions. c. Develop suitable recombinant DNA materials to facilitate the above and other studies.